Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire: Bellator MMA Champion Goes Under The Knife, Aims For A November Return To Competition

Among the MMA community, it is often said the best featherweight in MMA today is Jose Aldo “Junior.” However, there is another featherweight fighter nipping at his heals as Patricio “Pitbull” Freire is known as the best featherweight in MMA outside of UFC. For the longest time, Freire has been called the “second-best,” when compared to Aldo. That is no longer the case as Freire now believes he is better than Aldo and can beat him in a fight.

The road to proving this to the MMA community is at a standstill, but only temporarily. Patricio Freire went under the knife recently. Thankfully for his fans and the rest of the MMA community, Freire is expected to return to competition later on this year in November.

Patricio Freire initially announced his surgery via Instagram, in which it was later reported by MMA Fighting. Apparently, Freire had a deviated septum repaired on Thursday, July 23, 2015. This is good for the lightweight fighter given the fact that his team said Freire has been “breathing only through his mouth for over a year.”

Patricio Freire is now recovering from the surgery, but is expected to make his return to competition to fight Georgi Karakhanyan this coming November, as reported by Bleacher Report. Originally, Freire and Karakhanyan were supposed to have their fight at Bellator 138: Unfinished Business, a rematch from 2011 which Freire won with a third-round TKO victory. Unfortunately, Karakhanyan had to drop out due to a knee injury, and was replaced with Daniel Weichel.

When November comes, Georgi Karakhanyan will have his chance to avenge his 2011 loss. Either that or Patricio Freire will extend his current win streak to eight.

[Image via Bellator MMA Promotions]